


You and I had just, well, met...

by jr_blythe



Category: You've Got Mail (1998)
Genre: Not Canon Compliant, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:00:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27707993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jr_blythe/pseuds/jr_blythe
Summary: Joe Fox: You know, sometimes I wonder...Kathleen Kelly: What?Joe Fox: Well... if I hadn't been Fox Books and you hadn't been The Shop Around the Corner, and you and I had just, well, met...Kathleen Kelly: I know.Joe Fox: Yeah. I would have asked for your number, and I wouldn't have been able to wait twenty-four hours before calling you and saying, "Hey, how about... oh, how about some coffee or, you know, drinks or dinner or a movie... for as long as we both shall live?"
Relationships: Joe Fox/Kathleen Kelly
Kudos: 5





	You and I had just, well, met...

**Author's Note:**

> I’d like to imagine a few scenarios of when and how Kathleen and Joe could have met had their circumstances been different. I love “You’ve Got Mail”, so I hope to positively contribute to the fandom here❤️

Dear Birdie was a married woman now. Decades after her supposed dalliance with General Issimo Franco, she had found a man she loved enough to share her life with. Raymond was a lovely man, a few years older than Birdie, whose first wife had died 15 years earlier. He was a retired ad salesmen who never wanted to leave New York as his grown children and grandchildren still lived in the city. 

They met while each was shopping for their weekly groceries. They were both looking at the cheeses when their eyes met and they began discussing their dinner plans and recipes. As fate would have it, they both lived nearby, shopped at the same store weekly, but by some chance had never seen each other before. By the time they checked out they had made plans to meet the next day for breakfast (“I’m an old man, and I don’t want to miss seeing you again” Raymond had said). Within a few months, they had become engaged! Birdie told Kathleen that when you’re her age you don’t want to wait too long to start your next big adventure.

It was a beautiful ceremony full of promises for love and forgiveness no matter what lay ahead. There was laughing and tears from both sides of the aisle. It was not surprising that Birdie wanted a non-traditional wedding as Birdie often eschewed tradition. It was a little ceremony at her favorite city garden followed by a reception at their favorite weekend cafe. What was surprising was she wanted the traditional garter and flower toss for their unmarried guests. This surprise made greater by the fact that Kathleen was the only adult, non-married guest who participated; the rest being young children of various family members. “I once caught the bouquet when I was younger and thought it was lovely fun!” Birdie had said. 

When Birdie called the ladies to the floor to fight over the coveted bouquet, Kathleen had to be pushed to the front by her friend and fellow guest, George. Christina was standing by the hostess table, flirting with the male servers, and waved off the silent pleas from Kathleen to join in her forced humiliation. 

Birdie seemed to toss the bouquet directly at Kathleen, and the photographer’s flash provided the only sound as she caught the fresh flowers. The guests all cheered and clapped; Birdie gave her a big smile and a wink. The groom called the single men to the front and of the four men who came forward, Kathleen was most taken with a man about her age, with dark hair and kind eyes. 

There was not a big show of removing the garter; in fact Birdie skimpily supplied one from her handbag. Raymond posed for a photo with the gentlemen in the back, and then he too quickly tossed it over his shoulder. The man with dark hair and kind eyes darted in front to grab it it mid-air and all the guests laughed this time at his eagerness. The groom walked over to the man, tapping him on the shoulder, saying “good catch, Joe!” 

The photographer gathered the bride and groom, and Kathleen and the man for a photo. After Birdie and Raymond stepped away for cake, Kathleen was left with the handsome stranger.

“I’m Joe; Joe Fox,” he said and stuck out his hands to shake hello. She placed her hand in his and replied “Kathleen Kelly. Nice to meet you.” Her eyes glowed and Joe found he couldn’t look away.

Joe asked if she was a friend of the bride or groom. “The bride; Birdie is my aunt” she said with a smile. “How do you know Raymond?”  
“Ah, he and my grandfather were in the Advertising business together. I’ve known him my whole life.” Even though she’d only just met this man, his apparent affection for Raymond made her all the more happy for their union. 

They stood off to the side and started to discuss the usual. What do you do? She wrote children’s books; he had taken over the family advertising business. How much they both loved New York. Doesn’t it make you want to buy school supplies? They agreed they’d never want to live anywhere else. Both shared they were newly single.

They began flirting more. They talked their favorite books and he agreed to give “Pride and Prejudice” a try. He told her about his boat. She didn’t like boats, she said, but said maybe she could be persuaded otherwise. Neither could stop smiling at each other. They drank the punch and asked more questions about each other. She found out about his dog Brinkley. He learned she couldn’t stand the sound of typewriters. 

When the soft music started, the bride and groom had their first dance. After that, Joe asked Kathleen if she’d dance with him. He walked her to the floor and held her close as more couples joined them. Joe took a deep breath and whispered to Kathleen “When I saw you catch him the bouquet I just knew I had to meet you. Catching that garter was a good plan I’d say.” Kathleen blushed and closed her eyes but whispered back, “I’m glad you did.”

After a few more songs it was time for the bride and groom to leave for their honeymoon. Birdie found Kathleen and told her how glad she was to have met Joe. “He’s a very nice man, isn’t he my dear?” In that moment she was almost certain it was a set-up of some kind. Of course Birdie would always refuse that notion, but Kathleen would held on to her suspicions.

The guests all gathered to wave goodbye to the couple and wish them love and happiness. After the car pulled away, and the guests began to leave the cafe, Joe asked Kathleen for her number. “I’m really glad to have met you, I was wondering if I could see you again?” Kathleen smiled and, in true teenager fashion, wrote her phone number on a nearby napkin. The only awkward moment between them was at their leaving. Their interactions at the wedding made a handshake irrelevant, but a kiss would have been too much. Joe did lean in for a simple hug and gave her cheek a little kiss. Kathleen’s face again blushed and she couldn’t hide a smile, but nor did she want to her delight in his attentions.

They left the cafe in opposite directions. Kathleen hoped he would call her soon, she really enjoyed his company at the wedding and wanted to get to know him better. But as a women in the 90s she also knew the standard rule of “wait 24 hours for a call”. 

Thankfully Joe was not like any man she’d met before. About 6:30 that night her phone rang and it was Joe asking if they could meet up the next day for whatever time she was free- breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or coffee or drinks- whatever or whenever she wanted. Breakfast it was and she couldn’t wait! She already knew this man was special, and according to Birdie- you should never wait to start your next big adventure!


End file.
